WED 466: Unit 1

1
WED 466 Unit 1

• Historical, Philosophical, and Ethical
  Foundations
• of Workforce Education

2
General Objective

• Understands the historical, philosophical, and
  ethical foundations of workforce education.

3
Public Sector Foundations

• Pre-industrial Manual Labor
• Craftsmen of the Middle Ages
• Colonial Apprenticeships
• Industrialization
• Modern Apprenticeships

4
Skills Employability Paradigm

• Jobs lead to law-abiding, self-sufficient
  citizens.
• Self-sufficiency and social peace relate to job
  training.

5
Turn of the Century Ideologies

• Social Darwinism
• Dualist Nature of Intelligence
• Taylorism
• Progressivism
• Modernity

6
High School Vocational Education

• Federally supported vocational education
• Smith-Hughes Act of 1917
• Federally supported job training

7
Should vocational education be added to or
separated from existing high schools?
8
Private Sector Foundations

• Large Firms
• Mass production businesses
• Promotion based on seniority
• Taylorist management model
• Small Firms
• Dependent on public sector training
• Used labor union training in the trades

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Growth of Private Sector Training

• U.S. Training Service
• Harvard Business School
• Defense Advisory Commission
• Training Within Industry (TWI)
• National Society for Performance and Instruction

10
HRD Professionalization

• Global economic competition
• Learn faster than the competition.
• Form work teams.
• Drive decision making to the lowest levels.

11
The GI Bill Educational Opportunities for
Veterans

• What are the basic concepts?
• What is the impact of this law?
• What types of education and training does the law
  support?
• What is the GI Bill legacy?

12
Schools of Philosophy

• Idealism
• Realism
• Pragmatism
• Existentialism
• Eastern Ways of Knowing
• Native American Ways of Knowing

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Philosophy and Workforce Education

• How does philosophy influence educational
  decision making?
• What has prevented a unifying philosophy for
  workforce education?
• How can workforce education promote both
  individual opportunity and economic growth?
• What does it mean to act as a professional?

14
Ethical Issues of Workforce Education

• Four ethical obligations
• Promote learning.
• Ensure health and safety.
• Protect the public or private trust.
• Promote the transfer of learning.
• How can ethical standards guide educational
  practice and policy making?

15
What are the ethical standards for workforce
development professionals?
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Summary

• Historical foundations of workforce development
  includes two systems public and private sectors
  with little interaction between them.
• The study of philosophical thought provides a
  basis for establishing a personal educational
  perspective.
• Workforce education lacks a unifying philosophy.
• A true professional exhibits behavior that is
  consistent with the four ethical obligations.